Memorial Service Set For Young Drowning Victim

ENFIELD — A memorial service will be held Monday, marking one year since a 13-year-old boy who was later found drowned disappeared.

The service for Stephanos Rodriguez is being organized by his mother, Patricia, and will begin at 6 p.m. at St. Patrick's Cemetery on King Street.

Stephanos' body was found in the Connecticut River on May 25, 2007, by Thompsonville firefighters, after an exhaustive search. Patricia Rodriguez said she wants the service to be a remembrance about her son. She said she is inviting the community to participate in the service because Enfield embraced her and her family during their ordeal.

"The community of Enfield was very respondent and went out of its way to help us," Rodriguez said Wednesday. "I always shared them in my heart and I want them to be part of it."

A prayer service is being lead by Gregory Stokes, senior pastor of Cornerstone Church in East Windsor.

Stokes said Tuesday anyone who would like to participate in the service is welcome to attend. He said the tragedy touched the whole community last year.

Rodriguez said she hopes the Thompsonville Fire Department will be represented because they found her son. Members of the department were also the pallbearers at his funeral.

State police divers spent that week searching the river, at one point draining Freshwater Pond behind the Thistle Lane apartment complex where Stephanos' family lives.

A teenage boy who was a friend of Stephanos was later charged with interfering with police. Police said the boy watched from shore as Stephanos, his friend, drowned in the river. The unnamed boy's case was handled in juvenile court.